Bananas
by Concolor44
Summary: Gar has plans for his special shipment. But Jinx has other ideas.
1. Chapter 1

**Bananas**

_By Concolor44_

. . .

. . .

_A/N: Bananas are a very, __**very**__ versatile fruit._

. . .

. . .

_Titans' Tower, 4:30pm_

"Just wait'll you see it!" called the shape-shifter over his shoulder as he dragged Terra along through the Tower's main hallway at a near-run. "I couldn't _**believe**_ my luck!"

She, always finding his excitement contagious, laughed aloud and said, "All this fuss over some fruit."

"Fruit?!" he answered indignantly. They skidded to a stop in front of the Common Room doors, which allowed Nightwing and Starfire to catch up to them. The four had been on an all-day double date when Changeling got a late-morning text message on his T-Com about a delivery to the Tower. He was antsy the rest of the day. "Fruit?! I'll have you know that bananas are the most commonly consumed fruit item on the planet! There are _**tons**_ of people who depend on 'em to survive! Why, there's hundreds of different …"

"Whoa, whoa there, Skippy, cool your jets. I'm not throwin' off on your snack food of choice. I like bananas as well as the next girl." Casting a sidelong glance at Starfire, she snickered and said, "Although maybe not as well as some."

The alien had discovered bananas early in her sojourn on Earth, and found she liked them almost as much as mustard (and occasionally would dip the one in the other). Gar's news that he had secured an entire, fresh bunch was, in her estimation, 'most glorious'.

They'd always been a favorite for Nightwing as well; and he knew that Vic liked them. He wasn't too sure about Raven, but he thought he'd seen her eat them a time or two. And Jinx was a complete unknown, having only lived at the Tower for about three weeks. But she'd eaten everything they put in front of her so far (walking around with an empty stomach two days out of three for most of your early life will do that for a body). Gar wasn't worried. He figured every Titan would be thrilled with his windfall. "And free and gratis 'cause I saved his ship from those pirate dudes last month!"

Nightwing asked (again), "Are you _**sure**_ this falls under the fifty-dollar limit for gifts and gratuities? We don't want …"

"Chill, dude! He sells 'em wholesale, fifty-two cents a kilo, he said. Not to worry, I'm sure it ain't more than forty kilos, maybe forty-five, tops. You got nothin' to stress over."

"Okay. Good."

Gar put a hand on the activation plate and struck a dramatic pose. "Now for the reveal!"

Terra gave an exaggerated roll of the eyes, which he did not miss, and he pouted at her. She giggled and explained, "Raven's not here to glare at you. That was the best I could do."

"Party pooper." He straightened and hit the panel, the doors swiftly sliding open to show …

… utter chaos.

Four mouths dropped open as the Titans slowly surveyed the damage. Shattered glass lay all over the place. The dining table was broken in half, and a double handful of smashed dishes littered the floor in front of the kitchen. The charred remains of a wooden crate were splattered over much of the floor. Two of the cushions from the couch had apparently exploded. The big flat-screen lay in several pieces, the large window behind it a maze of spider-webbed cracks. And covering most surfaces in the room (especially the ceiling) was a moist, glistening, yellow-brown sludge: it still dripped slowly from a few points. Several dozen banana peels were scattered here and there, with perhaps half a dozen relatively-whole bananas to be seen, and the scent of fried banana hung heavy in the air.

Gar stood there, his shoulders sagging, eyes bugged, for maybe twenty seconds. Then he turned and yelled down the hall, "**RAAAAAVEEEEEEN!**"

. . .

. . .

_A Good Bit Earlier …_

Jinx was sprawled across the sofa, channel surfing, when the doorbell rang. She sat up a moment, blinking, not really sure what the noise was, but then it came again and she recalled Vic's explanation during the nickel tour of the Tower's facilities. Flipping over the back of the couch, she ran to the elevator. Thirty seconds later, she was opening the man-door at the Tower's base.

The youngish FedEx delivery guy gave her a once-up-and-down and then blinked at her. "… Um … are, uh … are you a Titan?"

"Honorary. I'm new." She stuck her hand out. "Name's Jinx."

"Um …" He looked at her hand, then up at her face, then back at her hand, and cautiously shook it. "I, uh … thought you were, um …"

"Yeah, I was. But bein' a super-villain just don't pay the bills around here. I'm doin' that hero thing now."

"Oh. Okay." He mulled that over a moment while scratching his head under his cap and then shrugged and held out a pad. "Got a delivery for Changeling."

"For real? What is it?"

"Got no clue. Big box, though. Climate-controlled shipping, too."

"Okay, cool. I'll sign for it."

She could see the _'No skin off my nose'_ expression that flitted across his face as she scribbled her moniker on the pressure-sensitive surface.

He stared at it and then shrugged again. "Be right back." And very soon he returned with a dolly toting a crate measuring about seventy centimeters square by a meter tall. "Where ya want it?"

"Ehhhrrmmmm … how heavy is it?"

He checked the manifest. "Fifty-six kilos."

"Ouch. Okay, uh … yeah, can you set it … hey, can you follow me upstairs with it?"

He did, finally depositing the box in the middle of the Common Room. Jinx Shook his hand again. "Thanks a bunch! I didn't really feel up to lugging that thing all this way."

"Just part of the service, miss." And he was gone.

Jinx walked around the box a couple of times and looked at the writing stenciled on the side. "Huh. _'Brasilia'_, eh? Okay, Green Bean, what you got comin' from South America?" She rubbed her hands together and examined the way it was fastened, finding what appeared to be basic nails tacking everything together. Not bothering to look for a crowbar, she instead focused a very tight beam of hex energy at the nails holding the top on. Very shortly, it was off, propped against the side of the crate. Inside that, though, was a tightly-fitted, heavily-waxed, thick cardboard box. To her delight, there was a picture of a bunch of bananas on the top. "Sweet!" In not much longer than it takes to tell, she had that box open and was taking a deep, appreciative sniff of the fruit inside. "Hot damn! They're ripe! Musta cost a bundle to ship the fresh stuff!" She had noted the way the huge bunch was suspended from four points at the top and anchored in three places farther down. Carefully twisting one of the bright yellow fruits off the stem, she peeled it and wolfed it down. "Oh, man …" she moaned, her eyes closed, "oh, MAN! Can't get _**that**_ at the local MaxiMart."

She backed off and studied the box, a feral grin growing on her pretty face. "Oh, yeah. Lessee, I need …" she muttered, hopping toward the kitchen. She began frantically looking through the cabinets, pulling out ingredients. "All right … cinnamon … ooo, _**dark**_ brown sugar, yeah! … I know we've got some butter … annnnnnnnd … ah-HA! I knew Stone still had some rum! Whoa, didn't know it was the 151 stuff. That oughta burn for sure. Good thing he didn't take it with him when he went east chasin' Bee." She assembled her things on the counter, and then thought hard. "Still need some ice cream. And we don't have any banana schnapps, and that _**might**_ be a problem." Then she brightened, remembering her fake ID. "Okay, just gotta get those brown contacts an' magic some temporary black into my hair, an' I'll be gold." And she tripped out of the room, adding, "They still got marshmallows. Oughta get some dark chocolate and some peanut butter, too, while I'm at it."

. . .

. . .

_Somewhat Later …_

It was decidedly unlike Raven to follow her nose around the Tower … but then no aroma such as the one currently pulling her along had ever graced its halls before.

She stopped briefly just outside the Common Room doors, extending her empathic field into that area. Startled, she touched down lightly and frowned.

Jinx.

Jinx was in there. She was in there, and that had to be where that incredible smell was coming from. Raven was determined to find out what it was (and perhaps sample a bit) but the puzzle of Jinx had kept her in various levels of 'flustered' for the last twenty days. Nightwing had commented on it last week, but she just brushed him off. He was used to that sort of response, though, and it didn't bother him. He figured she'd let him in on it if she couldn't work it out on her own.

But that was slowly solidifying itself as a difficulty the depths of which she was unable to plumb. She couldn't figure Jinx out. It wasn't that she didn't (exactly) trust that the hex caster had really turned over a new leaf. By all reasonable measures, she had, and Raven wasn't worried on that score. No, it was this disturbing … _**aura**_ … that she gave off whenever Raven was around …

_Predatory without being dangerous._

(Or maybe dangerous without being focused? Like she's up to something tricky but not evil?)

_Intrigued without being nosy._

(Or maybe nosy without being intrusive? A cat-like curiosity?)

There was some kind of interest there, if only she could accurately place it. She'd consulted her Emotions twice on the subject, and come up empty. Well, okay, Wisdom had given her this knowing look, and Joy had given her a distinctly coy one. Whatever that meant.

Sighing her frustration, she went on into the room.

The smell was much stronger here, almost heady, and Raven floated over to the kitchen, where sat Jinx. Dressed in a band tee and some pink capris, she was perched cross-legged on the counter with a large bowl in her lap, ladling some gooey, brown-and-yellow mixture into her mouth with a big spoon and letting go with tiny, satisfied noises at every bite.

Raven's salivary glands kicked on the afterburners.

"Jinx? What in the world _**is**_ that?"

The other girl had her hair down, and it bounced around her as she giggled. "Hi, Rae!" She waved her spoon unsteadily and caught herself before falling off. "Fanshee meetin' you here!"

Raven blinked at her. "Jinx? Are you … drunk?"

"Aw, hell, no! Jus' a li'l budge … a li'l buggug … I'm got a li'l buzz. Yeah, buzz." She waved her spoon around. "Not 'nuff rum in 'iss stuff t' git me good 'n' proper drunk."

Raven peeked into the bowl. The incredible aroma hit her full force. Giving Jinx a furtive glance, she dipped a finger in the mixture and licked it off. "Oh. Oh! … Oh, my."

"Good stuff, ain't it?"

"What _**is**_ it?"

"Bananas Foshter. 's my recipe."

"… You can cook?"

The pink eyes took on a look of hurt. "I am woon-ded. Woon-ded that you would think I can't cook. Who d'ya think kep' aw those idiots in th' H.I.V.E. Five fr'm starvin', huh?" She reached around behind her and rummaged for a second or two before producing another spoon, which she offered to Raven. "Jump on in." She giggled again. "Th' Foshter's fine."

Raven hardly needed any urging. She floated up and positioned herself on the counter opposite Jinx, digging the spoon in and allowing the excess to dribble off before guiding it to her mouth. Then she leaned back against the cabinet, a look of utter ecstasy covering her face. "That … is … the most … intensely … amazing thing … I have _**ever**_ tasted."

"Yeah, 's pretty good. Beatsa livin' shit outta frozen pizza."

A chime sounded, startling them both. Then Jinx grinned. "Heeeee! Got sumpin' else you'll like, too." She hopped off the counter and retrieved a bowl from the microwave, presenting it to Raven.

The empath stared at the dark-brown-and-white goop. "What is that?"

"Godiva Extra Dark. An' marshmallows."

"… Okay. Um, what are you supposed to …"

"Oh, an' ya gotta add peanut butter." She fished a jar from a drawer. "Got th' good kind. Mill-ground an' no perservavives."

Raven still didn't see.

"Oh! Right. Gotta have a banana." She scooted around and trotted over to a large box that Raven had missed upon first entering the room. Reaching in and giving a quick twist, she came up with a banana. "These 'r' ripe. Ol' Greenie really pulled one off this time. Came this morn'n."

Repositioning herself on the counter, Jinx grabbed the bowl of marshmallow-chocolate goodness and plopped a big spoonful of peanut butter into it. She gave it a couple of quick stirs and then peeled the banana. Depositing a glob of the combination on the end of the ripe fruit, she offered it to Raven.

Dubiously, the dark Titan took the banana and gave Jinx a raised eyebrow. "Just … bite it?"

"Duh."

_Okay. I wouldn't have thought to put these different things together, but …_ She took a bite. Her eyes slid shut as she chewed reflectively. Swallowing, her face stretched into a smile.

"Heh. Knew ya'd like it."

"Jinx. You are a genius."

"Aw shucks. Tweren't nothin'."

They alternated between the chocolate confection and the rum-laden dessert for a while until little was left of either. Then Jinx squinted at the shorter girl and said, "Y'r a messy eater."

Raven gave her a minor glare. "This's messy food." She tried to use her spoon to indicate the bowl in Jinx's lap, but her aim wasn't very good due the late tendency that her eyes had developed to cross spontaneously. Instead, she flipped a little piece of banana onto Jinx's shirt. "I dunno whiieey … I let you talk me into this." She had begun to use her left arm to steady herself some time earlier, but it was getting more problematic by the minute.

"I di'n talk _**you**_ inta nothin'." Jinx picked the banana off and ate it. "You talked y'rself right on in."

"_**You**_ made the Banananans Foshter!"

"I di'n tie that shpoon t' y'r hand, girl!"

Crossing her arms and leaning back, Raven grumped, "You're mean."

"I'm not mean! I made couple things you really liked. How's 'at mean?"

Her brain not firing on all (or even most) of its cylinders, Raven had to think about that one a while. "Gonna make me fat."

"Pfftt. Like that'll ev'r happen."

"Gonna get fat. Blow up like a balloon. Eat Foshters ever' day and blow up like a balloon. Heeheehee! Balloon. Balloon." She grinned. "Balloonaloonaloonaloon. Balloooooooooooooon."

"You are drunk."

"Now how c'n I be drunk when I di'n drink? Answer me dat."

"Guess ya mus' be buzz, 'k?"

"I guess."

"Still messy."

"I don't care." Raven used half a banana to wipe the remaining chocolate mixture from the bowl. "Y'know … we di'n have good shtuff t'eat much in Azaraff."

"… Huh?"

" 's where I'm from." She frowned in concentration and slowly pronounced, "Azz-err-ath."

"Never heard of it."

"It's not on Erfff."

Jinx giggled. "Y'r talkin' funny."

"Ha-ha, Missh Mishprenuncipation." She stopped and blinked and thought that over, then laughed out loud. "Thass funny! I mishpronounced mishpronouncipation."

"I'll tell ya funny. Thass you."

"… Don't care." She eyed Jinx's bowl. "There any o' that shtuff left?"

"Sure. Lots. But why dontcha eat whatcha dribbled all over y'self first?"

Raven glanced down at her cloak and pouted. "Well, that's a wayshte." She picked up one edge of the garment and licked off a drip of chocolate, then got a sugary piece of banana off another area.

Jinx watched her, fascinated.

Finally noticing Jinx's appraisal, the empath fuzzily stared at her. "There somethin' wrong?"

Her grin growing steadily, Jinx answered, "Nope. Ain't a thing wrong at all." She set the bowl to the side and leaned toward the Titan. "But you got some drips on y'r chin. Here, lemme help." She reached a finger over and slowly, softly ran it up one side of Raven's mouth, then drew back her hand and languidly, deliberately sucked the chocolate off that finger, never breaking eye contact.

Raven popped a light sheen of sweat. The feelings coming off the pink-haired girl were … new. Different. She couldn't really place them, especially in her present state of inebriation. But the sensations, nearly overwhelming in their intensity, both excited and frightened her.

Jinx moved closer. "We gotta get ya cleaned up 'fore th' others get back."

"… Clean … cleaned up?" Her voice rose an octave on that last word.

"Mm-hmm." Like a stalking cat, Jinx approached smoothly, her gaze never leaving her 'prey'. "Good 'n' clean."

Their faces were about five centimeters apart. Raven's heart rate jumped alarmingly and she took a couple of quick breaths.

Jinx leaned in. Her long, pink tongue darted out and licked a drip of caramel off Raven's chin. That's when two of the cabinet doors were encased in crackling black energy and ripped from their hinges. Neither girl paid that any attention.

Raven was petrified. Her mind was too disassembled at that point to analyze what was happening. But it was new and different and exciting and altogether unexpected.

Jinx licked her lips and leaned in again, taking off a smudge of peanut butter from the other side of Raven's chin. She hadn't blinked yet.

That was when the big flat screen and the main window fell apart.

Raven let slip an involuntary moan, which only encouraged Jinx. She smiled, a small, almost shy one, and slowly leaned forward until their breaths mingled.

Several lights blew, and then the microwave.

"I'll stop if you want me to." This was whispered against Raven's flushed lips.

In answer, Raven reached up and twined her fingers into the pink mass at Jinx's neck, and pulled them together the last couple of millimeters.

Pandemonium erupted.

. . .

. . .

_Back To The Here And Now …_

"**RAAAAAVEEEEEEN!**"

Changeling stomped down the main hall and turned into the residential wing, Terra following right behind with a worried look in her big, blue eyes. Starfire had stayed with Nightwing, who wanted to make sure his systems were still secure.

The shape-shifter was _beyond_ livid, and wanted **Some Justice** where his precious bananas were concerned. This tended to give him tunnel vision, so he didn't really notice Raven's cloak lying on the floor at the junction of the halls. Neither did he see, as they made their way down the hall, a chocolate-smeared Modest Mouse tee-shirt, or Raven's boots, or a pair of pink capris.

He pounded hard on Raven's door. "Open up, Rae!"

The door swung open. He blinked at it, and then poked his head inside. The normally-dark state of her room was undisturbed. Everything looked normal. And no Raven.

Terra poked his arm. "Hey, Gar."

"Yeah?" He pulled the door closed.

She pointed down the hall to Jinx's room. "I think she's in there."

"Oh, really?" His brow darkened again. "Thinks she can hide in there, does she?" And he stalked over.

Terra spotted a black bra crumpled against the baseboard. "Um, Gar, I don't think you oughta …"

"I'll tell ya what _**I**_ think: I think she owes me a ripe bunch o' bananas, that's what I think! Blowin' up the microwave now and then is one thing, but this is just …"

"Gar!" called Terra, running to catch up with him. "I really, really don't …"

He didn't bother knocking this time. "All right, Rae, you got some ex…plaining … to …

_. . . . . pale, bare legs against gray skin . . . . ._

_. . . . . a heaving bosom, the dark nipples stiff . . . . ._

_. . . . . a svelte waist curving into . . . . ._

Jinx looked up and grinned from where she was licking a viscous substance from Raven's lower belly. "Heeeyyy, Greenie!"

Gar's eyes rolled back into his head. Terra caught him before he fell, yelling, "Sorry, ladies! Carry on!" She dragged him away and then nudged the door shut with a foot.

Jinx looked down at Raven. "I think he fainted."

"I think we broke him."

"I heard 'im yellin' 'bout his bananas."

"I did kinda make a mess of 'em."

"We oughta get him some more."

"Oh, we will _**for sure**_ get more 'nanas." She indicated the empty bowl on the bed beside them. "We're 'bout outta Foshter, an' you gotta make more."

"Got that right." She grinned at the empath. "Now that I've found out what it's _**really**_ good for."

. . .

. . .

_A/N: You'd think, wouldn't you, after all this time, that Gar would have learned not to just barge in on Raven. Not good for the health._

_Reviews = Love!_


	2. Morning Light

**Bananas**

_By Concolor44_

. . .

. . .

_**Chapter Two: Morning Light**_

. . .

. . .

_A/N: You knew there was more to the story, right? There always is, even if it doesn't get written down._

. . .

. . .

_Titans' Tower, 9:14am_

One eye cracked open.

_Light! Hiss! Light! Evil light is bright!_

The eye closed again.

"Ugh."

Slowly and carefully, Jinx rolled over away from her window and blinked bleary, sticky eyes at her alarm clock … or where her alarm clock should have been. The side table seemed to be missing. She sort-of-fell onto her back and draped a forearm across her face.

"Ugh. What a head." She had to wince at the thundering sound of her own voice.

The next thing she noticed was that her bed was crooked. The bed's head was split roughly down the middle and was a few centimeters lower than the foot. Then, after blinking several more times, she saw a couple of cracks in her ceiling, which alarmed her enough to sit up. Then she noticed the door of her closet lying on the floor, and a large, irregular blackened spot next to the hole it left in the wall. _What the hell?_

She stumbled out of bed and gained her feet, albeit unsteadily. Turning toward the _en-suite_ bath, she stopped, her mouth dropping open at the sight of her dresser: all six drawers were pulled completely out, and two of them were in splinters.

"Did I sleep through a raid? What kind of …"

She spotted the empty bowl that had contained the wonderful Bananas Foster she'd made, and stopped dead. Her world drew in and condensed until that bowl was the only thing in it, and the one word that echoed across her mind was:

_**Raven**_**.**

She dropped her face into her hands and sank to her knees. "Oh, no. No, no, no." She peeked through her fingers again at the bowl and groaned, "Holy … shit."

Bits and pieces of the previous afternoon and evening floated to the top of her consciousness. The more she remembered, the redder her face got, until the blush had crept halfway down her torso.

_Did … did I really … __seduce__ Raven? Holy shit. I mean, __**Holy Shit!**_

After a minute's contemplation (killer headache notwithstanding) she was forced to admit to herself, that yes, she had enticed the empath into a very _**creative**_ make-out session.

And this morning she was still, unaccountably, alive. How the hell did _**that**_ happen?

A sudden thought occurred to her and she scrambled up (drawing in a hiss of air at the discomfort in her nether regions) and made as thorough a search of her room as her throbbing temples would allow, but her efforts failed to turn up a body. _Okay, no corpse of Raven. So she's probably alive somewhere. Which still makes my continued ability to draw breath confusing. Unless … unless maybe she didn't stay and sleep with me? If she woke up in her own room …_ The details of the later evening were quite fuzzy. She couldn't recall whether they had gone to sleep together or not.

The details from before that, though, were clear enough. She eased herself down onto her lopsided bed and groaned into her palms.

_How am I ever gonna make that up to her? I all but raped her!_

There was no question of an apology. Jinx just hoped she could get through it with all her internal organs more or less intact. But first, she'd have to find the empath and maybe, possibly try to feel out what she already knew or had guessed. Of course there was also a chance that Raven simply hadn't awakened yet. She'd go check her room first, and …

"Hell with that," she muttered as quietly as she could. "Can't talk to _anybody_ 'til I've had my coffee, imminent death or not."

. . .

. . .

Nightwing was the only one in the Common Room when she stumbled through the doors. Over the rim of his coffee cup he noted her haggard appearance and gestured at her with his free hand, commenting, "You don't look so good."

Not bothering to respond, she weaved her way toward the kitchen, squinting at the illumination. Someone must have replaced the bulbs that fell to Raven's power surges. Panning the rest of the big room, she realized someone had done a _**lot**_ of cleaning. The main window was still cracked, the big flatscreen hadn't been replaced yet, and the couch was missing two cushions, but most of the rest of the damage had been fixed. She blushed again, this time in shame over the work she'd caused the others.

"Did you, ah, not get enough … sleep?"

Her blush deepened at the intonation he'd placed on that last word. She only grunted in answer, and turned back to the kitchen. The coffee pot was gloriously full. She fumbled a mug out of the cabinet and poured it to the halfway point, sloshed it a few times while blowing on it, and tossed it off. Then she filled it again and turned to her new leader.

He looked at her more closely. "You've got a hangover!"

"Nothin' gets by you." Deciding to just bluff it through, she returned his stare with change and brought the mug to her lips. _*slurrrrp*_

"Jinx … you're underage! I realize things were different in the H.I.V.E., but …"

She held up a hand. "Wasn't drinkin'. Used rum in a recipe. Didn't burn enough of it off."

"Oh. Um …"

"Have you seen Rae?"

"… This morning?"

"No, last Christmas. _Yes_, this morning! I was gonna go by her room first, but if you've …"

"I think she's on the roof."

Jinx nodded (carefully) and said, "Thanks."

Nightwing studied her. "Aren't you going to ask me another question?"

"Nope."

"Really."

She drew a long sigh. "Okay, look. I realize I screwed the pooch in truly epic fashion. I'll make my apologies to her and – assuming she lets me live – pack my things and scram."

"Jinx, listen …"

She showed him her hand again. "Save it. I did something unforgivable. I know. Caught that. Just … just let me finish my coffee and I'll start cranking up the guillotine."

Regarding her with thinly-disguised amusement, he finally shrugged and walked off. "Try not to get blood on anything that'll be hard to clean."

"Hardy-freakin'-har-har. Don't quit yer day job."

The doors slid shut, leaving her alone in the big room. She leaned back against the counter as she worked through the rest of that mug of coffee, then she made herself a piece of toast, and ate that with _another_ dose of the caffeine-laden beverage. Finally, she placed the mug in the soapy water, leaned on her hands at the edge of the sink for a moment to gather her courage, and headed for the elevator.

. . .

. . .

The ride was over all too quickly. Jinx stepped out onto the slightly resilient polymer surface that covered the steel-clad synthetic concrete, and scanned the perimeter.

There she was.

Raven sat on the western edge of the roof, gazing out into the Pacific, so all Jinx could see was her back. It looked like she had her legs drawn up and her arms around them, but details were tough with that cloak in the way. Raven's hood was down, though, so she could see that luscious violet hair stirring in the light breeze. It still being early spring, that breeze was the tiniest bit chilly, and Jinx's arms and feet were bare. _At least the roof's surface isn't cold._ She hugged herself and sort of ambled over in Raven's direction, noticing with puzzlement that the empath had exchanged her blue cloak for a lavender one. What was up with that? Jinx hadn't even known she'd _owned_ such a thing.

She stopped about two meters behind the seated girl, waffling over how to proceed. Would her chances of grisly death be higher if she spoke her piece from here, or if she took a spot beside Raven? The close proximity of her demise was robbing her normally agile mind of much of its horsepower, so she was having a hard time making a decision.

Raven, though, appeared to suffer no such lack. "Sit down." That monotone brooked no refusal.

Jinx scurried to sit, opting not to dangle her legs off the side. No sense in making things _too_ easy. "… Um … Uh … That is …"

"You don't need to be talking just now."

The pinkette stilled.

No other sounds came from either girl for several minutes. Finally, Raven said, "You don't know about Malchior."

It wasn't a question. Raven's tone made that much obvious. And it was true; Jinx had never heard the word before. But she didn't know if she was supposed to say anything or …

"He was a mage. I found him in a book. An evil dragon named Rorek had imprisoned him in it via some extremely strong dark magic. We began talking. He was able to materialize after a fashion, made himself a body out of the pages of the book, but he could only manifest it inside a thaumaturgic circle."

That gave Jinx mightily to pause. Raven was talking about sorcerer-supreme-level magic!

"He wanted to be able to escape, and I wanted to help him. He began teaching me the magic necessary to break the spell, and a lot of other magic besides. We became … close. He didn't flinch around me, didn't mind that I was half-demon. He didn't think I was … creepy. He began to pay me compliments. Told me I had talent and power, and that I w-was … was beautiful. I began to … develop … feelings for him. I trusted him. I may have … loved him. A bit."

This was a shocking revelation for Jinx. She'd had no idea!

"We effected his release. I was so filled with joy that day, joy over being able to help him, joy over the prospect of … of spending _**time**_ with him. The _**real**_ him. The Malchior who could hold me and …"

She was quiet for more than a minute. Jinx, who was fighting down some pretty stiff (though irrational) feelings of jealousy, thought she detected a very slight vibration under the cloak.

When Raven continued, there was no trace of tremor in her voice. "But he had deceived me."

"… What?"

"Malchior was not the sorcerer. Malchior was the Dragon."

"Oh, shit!"

Raven turned her head, her steady gaze pinning Jinx to the roof like a butterfly on wax. The pink-eyed girl shrank in a little. "… sorry."

Raven's gaze sought the sea again. "His desire had not been for me. Practically everything he had told me was a lie. In fact, he tried to kill me as soon as he was free." She floated up about a centimeter and turned in the air to face Jinx. "We fought him. It was a close thing. Dragons are not to be taken lightly, even those that have been imprisoned for a thousand years. But I was able to seal him back in the book. I have not ventured into any sort of relationship since then."

Clear, liquid lines shimmered along the bottoms of Jinx's eyes. She sniffed and muttered, "Oh, gods." When she blinked, the tears raced down her cheeks and fell onto her thighs.

Raven regarded her solemnly for a moment, then moved forward and gently wiped the tears with a thumb. Jinx turned her head away.

The empath made a _tsk_ noise. "Look at me."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"I'm too ashamed."

"Are you, now?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

" 'cause I'm even worse than I thought I was."

"You're certainly sillier."

Jinx sat up a little straighter at that. "Sillier?"

"Absolutely. You haven't let me finish."

"… Finish?"

Raven made herself comfortable, arranging the cloak in a drape. Cocking her head, she observed, "You haven't said anything about my cloak."

"Um … well … that seemed kinda … minor. You know, given … um … the, ah, other stuff."

" 'Other stuff'?"

"Yeah."

"What other stuff?"

"God, Rae, you gonna make me say it?"

"Call me curious."

Jinx's mouth opened and shut a few times before she threw up her hands. "Fine! Okay! I'm sorry I se-se-seduced … damn it. Sorry I seduced you and … and … did all that."

"All what?"

Jinx stared at her. She'd known the half-demon had a tiny cruel streak but this took the cake. "Just how much detail d'ya want me t' go into?"

"How much do you remember?"

Pink eyes closed as she bit her lip. "Well … see … that's part of the problem. I don't really remember all of what I did to you. But it musta been bad. My room looks worse than my old one did after I chased Wally out of it." She glanced up at Raven. "How … how much do you remember?"

She said nothing for a quarter-minute, then shrugged and answered, "Enough."

Jinx squeezed her eyes shut again.

"So about my cloak …"

One eye peeked open a fraction. "You not gonna kill me yet?"

"I'm not going to kill you at all."

That made Jinx sweat. "But … but what's worse than being killed?"

"Well since you ask," she said, showing pointed teeth, "any number of things. Been there, done that. But that's beside the point." She held up her hem. "Cloak. Focus."

"Um … yeah. Okay. It's not blue."

"Correct. You also probably didn't know (unless Star or 'Wing told you) that the color of my cloak is dependent to some degree upon the state of my emotions."

"… Huh?"

"When Malchior had trained me in the first course of his magic, my cloak turned white. That was indicative of a melding, a sort of accommodation that my Emotions made with each other."

"Your emotions? What does that mean?"

"You know, Jinx, before you go hopping into the sack with a hybrid demon, you should probably find out a little about what makes her tick, don't you think?"

Jinx's face flamed. She couldn't meet Raven's eyes.

"When I was young, my soul was partitioned."

"… That sounds painful."

"It was excruciating. They enacted the spell every twenty-one days. As each Aspect of my 'self' was peeled off, it turned my cloak a different color. I went through much of the spectrum over a period of about six months."

"… I thought you grew up in a monastery!"

"I did."

"But … but that's just plain evil! How could your caretakers have been _**that**_ cruel? How are you even _**sane**_ after being abused like that?"

"Who said I was sane?"

"Saner 'n I am," she mumbled.

"Not arguing _**that**_ point. But at any rate, they had their reasons. It does make it easier to control them when they are compartmentalized."

"And you need control, otherwise …"

"Things happen such as what happened to your room."

"God, Rae, I am SO SORRY!"

"Yes, I can sense that. You ought to dial it down a bit."

"How can I do that? I'm horrible!" She jumped to her feet and began to walk off. "If you're not gonna kill me, I'll go ahead and get out of your life so you can …"

"Who said I wanted that?"

Jinx froze.

"Dear Heart, you seem to be laboring under a number of false assumptions."

Pink eyes swiveled around to meet amethyst. "… What sorts of false assumptions?"

Raven held up the cloak with both hands and shoved it toward Jinx. "What do you think this means?"

She had to stop and think that one over. "You got … partitioned again?"

"Not partitioned. That doesn't happen spontaneously. But the growth of a new Emotion? Oh, yeah."

"That happens?"

She nodded. "This will be the second time."

"So … so what new emotion is lavender colored?"

"Love."

A few quick rushes of static chased themselves over Jinx's skin. Her head was suddenly very light. "Love?"

"Mm-hmm."

_Processing: 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 = 8_ "And you got that new color … this morning?"

"Woke up with it."

Jinx stared at her, frowning, for better than half a minute. Then she took three long strides, knelt in front of the violet-haired girl, and gathered her tightly into her arms. "I am _**so**_ getting you back for this."

Raven's arms snaked up around Jinx's neck. "I am quite sure I have no idea what you are referring to."

"Pssht. Right." She leaned back. "That Malchior story the real deal?"

"Every word. And then some."

"I'm gonna flatten his sorry ass so _**hard!"**_

"You're going to leave him strictly alone. He's out of your league. By a league."

"But just _telling_ that story made you cry! I can't let …"

"I wasn't crying. I am _**so**_ over that bastard, and _all out_ of tears on his account."

"… Huh?"

"I was straining every muscle in my torso to keep from laughing."

"… What?"

"Your reaction was priceless."

"_**WHAT?"**_

She smirked. "You swallowed it. Soaked it up like a sponge. It was classic. Gar would have been proud."

"You! … You! …" Jinx popped her shoulder and flumphed down, arms crossed, but then she winced at the sudden jarring of her head, rubbing her temple.

Suddenly concerned, Raven asked, "Hangover?"

"Uh-huh."

A slender hand reached over and rested on the pink hair. A blue nimbus outlined Jinx's head for a moment, then disappeared.

The pinkette looked up, blinking in shock, and stared at Raven. "You just do that?"

"I did. How do you …"

"You have any idea how much _money_ you could make any given Sunday morning?"

"Not interested."

"Your loss. But thanks. It doesn't hurt at all now!"

"You're welcome."

"So … does all this mean I'm, like, forgiven?"

A tiny chuckle escaped Raven's lips. "That's funny, too."

"… Why?"

"You didn't do anything." Holding up a hand to forestall objections, Raven continued, "Yeah, sure, you _started_ things. But after that last explosion in the kitchen, after we decided to go to your room, I was driving. Alcohol seems to have a marvelously lubricious effect on my inhibitions … and libido. I was the one who ripped off your clothes while we were still in the hallway. I was the one who smeared the Bananas Foster on myself, and made you lick it off." Her eyes darkened as she described the events of the previous evening. "I was the one who guided our joining. Every time."

Those pink eyes got very round. "What'd'ya mean, 'every time'?"

Raven gave her half a shrug and half a smile. "I lost count."

"… Lost … Huh. Guess that explains why I'm sore."

"I had to heal you twice."

Jinx gave her lover a long, thoughtful look and then took a seat on the edge of the Tower, swinging her feet off. Raven hovered around until they sat side by side.

"So this Malchior dude …"

"Yes?"

"He's a guy?"

"He is male. He wore the aspect of a man."

"But I'm not."

"Oh, no, Dear One, you are most _**definitely**_ not male!"

"And that don't bother you at all?"

"All demons are bisexual. Most of us are bi-gendered. It makes procreation a lot easier."

"Oh. Good for me, then." She swung her feet out and in, out and in.

Raven glanced over at her. "You taste very nice, by the way."

_*blink-blink*_ "Taste … you mean when we kissed?"

There was that smirk again. "Yeah, that, too."

. . .

. . .

_A/N: Jinx prefers to come out on top, usually. In this case, I don't much think she cares._

_Reviews = Love!_


End file.
